Death Toll and Casualties Rise in Turkey and Syria: What We Know

This night, the death and injury toll from the earthquake recorded in Turkey and Syria has increased.

According to Turkey's Ministry of Health, the number of casualties has reached 1,651, with injuries totaling 11,119. Meanwhile, Syria's Ministry of Health reports that the death toll in Syria has climbed to 538.

It is worth noting that the 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck in the night, followed by several smaller tremors that leveled entire neighborhoods in large cities across Turkey and Syrian cities.

Orhan Tatar, a representative from Turkey's Disaster and Emergency Management Authority, stated to journalists that the two earthquakes are not related to each other.

Hundreds of people continue to remain trapped under the rubble on both sides of the border. The World Health Organization has warned that it expects a “significant” increase in the death toll as rescuers continue search operations in the debris, where the bodies of those who were sleeping during the earthquake are trapped, reports the Daily Mail.